The Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the dates for assembly elections to five states today. The elections to Rajasthan, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram legislative assemblies will be held in November. The counting will be held on December 3 for all the states, according to Election Commission of India.
Mizoram will go to polling booths on November 7 while Chhattisgarh will vote on November 7 and 17. Madhya Pradesh will vote on November 17 and Rajasthan will vote on November 23. Voting will be held in Telangana on November 30.
Elections will be held for more than 670 assembly constituencies in five states; Madhya Pradesh (230 seats), Rajasthan (200), Telangana (119), Chhattisgarh (90) and Mizoram (40).
A total of 16.15 crore electorates will be voting in these elections across 1.77 lakh polling stations.
“1/6th of the total voters in the country (16.1 crore) will vote in these five states,” Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said in New Delhi.
Approximately 60.2 lakh first-time voters are expected to participate in the electoral process.
The term of the Mizoram Assembly will conclude on December 23, while the terms of the other state assemblies will end by January 16, 2024.
Among these five states, two are governed by the Congress party, one by the BJP, and two by regional parties.
Over the past couple of months, both the BJP and Congress have been campaigning in these states, with the participation of national leaders from both parties, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi.
Considered the semifinals to the general elections scheduled in next year, they hold crucial significance for both the PM Modi-led NDA and the Congress-led INDIA alliances. These assembly elections are also vital for the political futures of many senior leaders in India, including Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel.
